Bombay HC tells tenant to vacate room, ends 48-year-old case

Mumbai: Bringing an end to a 48-year-old case, the Bombay high court held that a tenant does not have any need for a tenanted house after securing another house, whether it is in his name or that of his spouse. The court was hearing a petition filed by a landlord against an appellate court’s decision overturning an eviction order to the tenant issued by city civil court in 1984.

While the original landlord and tenant are no more, the case was being contested by the heirs. The tenanted house was a one-room premise at Sewri, which is being used to accommodate workers of the tenant while he and his family had shifted to a self-contained house at Wadala since 1969.

The writ was petition filed by Navindra and Laxmichand Nanji, executors of the last will of Nanji Raoji and Mathabai Nanji, landlords of Nanji Ravji Building at Sewri.

The petition sought vacation of a room in the building in possession of the legal heirs of Jivraj Bhanji who was the original tenant of the premise since 1967.

After hearing the petition the court said, “... While the petitioners await the fruits of the litigation, the respondent tenant, has been an undeserving beneficiary of the systematic delay in the judicial process.”

While accepting the proofs and documents produced by the petitioner’s lawyer advocate Preeti Gada proving that the Bhanji family had no need for the one-room suit premise, the judge quashed the 1998 appellate court’s order and restored the 1984 judgement and order of the small causes court and directed the tenants to hand over possession of the suit premise to the Nanjis within 12 weeks.